Welcome to this week's Chutes and Ladders, our roundup of hirings and retirings throughout the industry. Please send the good word--or the bad--from your shop to Michael Gibney (email | Twitter) or Amirah Al Idrus (email | Twitter), and we will feature it here at the end of each week.
FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg to step down |
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FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg announced her resignation this week, effective at the end of March. Hamburg has held the agency's top spot for nearly 6 years and will leave behind a legacy of working closely with the industries she regulates. Under Hamburg's watch, FDA instituted programs intended to speed up the drug review and approval process; she saw the agency approve a 20-year record of 51 novel therapies in 2014. "I feel so fortunate to have worked at an organization as remarkable and productive as the FDA," Hamburg wrote to colleagues. "The expertise, dedication and integrity of our people and the unique nature and scope of FDA's role make this Agency truly special." Last week, Hamburg appointed Robert Califf to serve as the agency's deputy commissioner, a move some saw as an attempt to line up a successor. Before serving as FDA commissioner, Hamburg was the head of the New York City Health Department. Hamburg's announcement | Story
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